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Dinner with Mugabe” (Uddrag)

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Dinner with Mugabe” (Uddrag) ”DINNER WITH MUGABE” (UDDRAG) I litteraturens magt, Zimbabwe – et mönsterland UDDRAG AF HEIDI HOLLAND: "DINNER WITH MUGABE". PENGUIN BOOKS 2008 ”Dinner with Mugabe” er en skildring af Robert Mugabes liv. Heidi Holland har besøgt flere af hans gamle bekendte, venner og fami- liemedlemmer for at få belyst, hvordan Zimbabwe er kørt af spo- ret, og hvilken rolle Mugabe spiller. Efter hvert interview analyse- rer hun dette med tre psykologer, og finder på den måde frem til sine fortolkninger af mennesket Mugabe. I dette uddrag interview- er hun Robert Mugabe. Have you changed over the past 30 years? 'Yes, physically I have. I've grown old and bald. But the ideas and principles remain. I haven't changed at all.' Do you worry about repercussions in the international justice system in respect of Gukurahundi (the campaign of beatings, arson and mass murder deliberately targeted at the civilian population and conducted by Mugabe's personal militia)? Mugabe waved his hands dismissively and sighed in exaspera- tion. It's just political. It's just politics that people try to gain out of it. Gukurahundi - as it happened - what was it? You had a party with a guerrilla force that wanted to reverse democracy in this country. And action was taken. And, yes, there might have been excesses, on both sides. True, it's not the fact that there was Gukurahundi which is wrong. It's the fact that there have 33 11 45 40 been excesses that have caused some people to suffer. But lektiehjæ[email protected] we'd have to start with the excesses of Ian Smith - and the www.od.dk/undervisning colonialists, the British, who were still in charge - because lots of people disappeared; lots of people died. Side 1 af 4 But Gukurahundi happened during your time, I told him. Would you like to place on the record your regret about it? No, there is no regret about the fact that we had to defend the country. But the excess, where it happened, yes. Any death that should not have occurred is a cause for regret, and where- ver people have suffered. But the figures don't make sense be- cause they don't represent the truth. When I told him the estimates of deaths during Gukurahundi ranged between 8000 and 30000, he replied icily, 'Who are those people; who are they? We want to know.' I had been expecting Mugabe to object to the question on Gu- kurahundi but it was my scepticism that bothered him. The question itself did not disconcert him because he simply justi- fied his actions. He clearly feels Gukurahundi was legitimate on the grounds that he was aggrieved. He was settling a problem with a terrorist group, though he regretted the excesses. He sat on the fence, condoning the terrible violence without actually saying as much. Like the husband who beats his wife merciles- sly and then says he did it because she provoked him, Mugabe takes no responsibility for his loss of control or what Gukura- hundi says about him. Do you have any regrets, sir? 'Of what?' Anything. 'It would depend on what you have in mind.' Politically? No, no regrets. You go into a fight. It's a fight against colonia- lism. You make sacrifices. And naturally, when people die you regret the deaths of the people. And that's why we have crea- ted Heroes Acre in order to remember those whose deaths should not have occurred. Yes, we are sorry that there are tho- se who have died, but other regrets, I don't know. We might have regrets where we've had a policy that we've had to revise. 33 11 45 40 Or failures in our programmes because some people have not lektiehjæ[email protected] implemented them faithfully and honestly. Yes, you regret tho- www.od.dk/undervisning se failures. Failures in government are regretted, especially when they are because of corruption or inefficiency, incompe- tence or neglect. Sure, we regret. Side 2 af 4 How would you like to be remembered? Just as the son of a peasant family who, alongside others, felt he had a responsibility to fight for his country. And did so to the best of his ability. And was grateful for the honour given him to lead a country and be remembered as one who was most gra- teful for the honour that the people gave him in leading them to victory over British imperialism. Yes, for that I want to be re- membered. He is more likely to be remembered as a leader who was out of touch with reality. The simple, traditional home he grew up in, where a grandfather would fail to take a dying child to hospital for fear of what the doctors might do, was inadequate for a bright child craving stimulation. So the bored boy in deprived circumstances created his own internal realm, as such children are prone to do. It was a parallel world where he could imagine that there was no injustice, where the prince rescued the princess, and little boys weren't left with nothing to eat. In his fantasy world of books and ideas, idealised goodness was va- lued above all else and he did not have to grapple with the daunting realities of everyday life. He learned to distort reality; making it what he wanted it to be. He thought everybody would hold hands and achieve heaven on earth. But when someone wrote a letter saying they didn't want to do that, reality impinged: it was not going to be the way it was meant to be in the books. He was shocked and disillusio- ned. He had thought his ideals would be achieved through suffering; that his sacrifices would be rewarded. His people would be free and laughing, their bellies full as they waved flags in the streets of Harare. But he had not taken into account the inescapable fact that freedom is an internal as well as an external matter; that people are sometimes limited by internalised experiences that can trap and hold as surely as a cell. The doors of the ex- ternal prison might have swung open, but the internal cell re- mained locked and barred. He dedicated his life to his country without knowing what it was he could and couldn't achieve. Terms 33 11 45 40 Gukurahundi = Massemordet mod Ndebele-stammen i Zim- lektiehjæ[email protected] www.od.dk/undervisning babwe fra Robert Mugabes side, grundet end væbnet konflikt mellem ham og Joshus Nkomo Guerrilla = Guerillakrig er en form for væbnet modstand fra folket. Side 3 af 4 Heroes Acre = Gravsted for alle, der er erklæret helte af rege- ringen Glossary Repercussions = Følger Arson = Ildspåsættelse Deliberately = Med fuldt overlæg Conducted = Ledet Exasperation = Irritation Excesses = At ødelægge nogens job eller position Icily = Koldt Aggrieved = Forurettet Condoning = Se igennem fingre med Revise = Revidere Implemented = Udført / sat til værks / implementeret Inefficiency = Uduelighed Peasant = Bonde / Landarbejder Inadequate = Utilstrækkelig Deprived = Som lider afsavn Internal = Indre Realm = Verden / Rige Prone = Være tilbøjelig til Grapple = Kæmpe / Tumle med Daunting = Skræmmende Distort = Fordreje Impinged = Kollapsede Inescapable = Uundgåelig External = Ydre Barred = Tilgitret / Spærret 33 11 45 40 lektiehjæ[email protected] www.od.dk/undervisning Side 4 af 4 .
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